This code of ethics developed by the NY attorney general aims to encourage more honest and open conduct by wind energy companies and their employees. While this voluntary code is signed by the wind company, it also impacts municipal officials in terms of their conduct, required disclosure and similar requirements on their family members. The first section of the code is presented below. The full document can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.

This open letter to representatives of British Petroleum and Acciona/AES appeared in New York's Watertown Daily Times newspaper in response to questionable business practices by the developers seeking to build wind facilities in Cape Vincent, New York. The full letter can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

Memorandum and order issued by the NY State Supreme Court in the matter involving a request by property owners in Prattsburgh to annul the decision by the Town Board of the Town of Prattsburgh to condemn a portion of the petitioners' property in order to create certain easements for Windfarm Prattsburgh, LLC, to place underground electricity lines for a wind farm project.

UPC Wind (First Wind) is seeking landowners in Prattsburgh, NY to negotiate this easement agreement to permit the company an exclusive and permanent right of way and easement to build, rebuild, relocate, operate, repair, maintain, renew and at their pleasure remove underground transmission lines for purposes of transmitting electricity, communications systems etc. The full agreement can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

A Franklin County Grand Jury is investigating town officials' financial ties with wind farms. A town councilman in Burke, in northern Franklin County, has sued to quash a subpoena issued by the district attorney as part of the grand jury process. Jacob Resneck reports.

Over the past three months the Franklin County District Attorney's Office has been examining allegations of certain improprieties including self-dealing, conflicts of interest and violations of statutes on the part of various local elected officials in Franklin County. The recently disclosed unethical conduct by our state's highest elected official has heightened the need for a closer review of all available ethical safeguards in order to reestablish and maintain the Public's confidence in our elected officials. ...Our investigation has revealed several contracts, easements, lease option agreements, cooperation memoranda and other types of documents which disclose relationships existing between elected officials and certain third parties in Franklin County (as well as other elected officials in other Counties) which, when allegedly coupled with certain decision making and board action, may be in violation of General Municipal Law (GML) 805-a(1)(c) and (1)(d).

From Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain, wind projects are dividing small towns struggling to balance the interests of town residents with the ambitious proposals brought by wind companies. Now, allegations of conflicts-of-interest in at least one Franklin County town have attracted the scrutiny of the district attorney and state investigators. Jacob Resneck reports.

Petitioners are residents and landowners in the Towns of Warren and Stark, who challenge two special use permits issued in June of 2007 by the respondent town boards authorizing the construction of the Jordanville Wind Power Project. This Article 78 petition seeks to annul and vacate actions taken and determinations made by the respondent town boards, alleging a violation of, inter alia, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the Open Meetings Law. The proposed project is for the construction a 68 turbine wind farm in the [*2]subject towns in Herkimer County which, when fully operational, will generate 136 megawatts of electric power from the wind which will be introduced into the New York State Electric Grid.

The Department of Environmental Conservation has released for public review proposed Guidelines for Conducting Bird and Bat Studies at Commercial Wind Energy Projects. These guidelines inform potential wind developers of the information DEC needs about wind farm sites to assess impacts to birds and bats. The guidelines were developed through a stakeholder process sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority which included industry representatives as well as bird and bat biologists from government agencies, academia and non-governmental environmental groups. Comments will be received until March 7, 2008 via mail to Brianna Gary, NYSDEC Bureau of Habitat, 625 Broadway 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-4756 or via email.

The NY ISO interconnection queue as of Oct 2007. Total megawatts for proposed wind generation now exceeds 6000MWs. Projects listed in the queue are not guaranteed to be built, but this list serves as an indicator of wind development activity. The vast majority of projects are proposed for western and central regions of the State.

New York's Public Service Commission's decision to grant Jordanville Wind, LLC a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Pursuant to Section 68 of the Public Service Law. The PSC ordered Jordonville Wind (Iberdrola) to remove 19 turbines thereby reducing the tower count to 49, due to the adverse impact on areas of historic significance and the scenic quality of the setting. An excerpt of the decision (p. 18 of 35) follows.

The following report describes the research design, initiation and completion of the first year of postconstruction study (fall migration only) of avian and bat collision fatalities at the 120 turbine Maple Ridge Wind Power Project in Lewis County, New York. The work was conducted in accordance with the “Proposed Scope of Work for a Postconstruction Avian and Bat Fatality Study at the Maple Ridge Wind Power Project, Lewis County, New York” dated March 14, 2006, and agreed upon in mid-May 2006, after several revisions. People/agencies who reviewed the proposed scope of work included staffers from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), Environmental Design and Research (EDR), NYS DEC staffers, developers (PPM and Horizon), and others. Representatives from some or all of these groups have been included in a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which has the responsibility of reviewing and commenting on progress reports, annual reports, and other updates from this project.

This brief paper reviews and evaluates key aspects of energy policies and plans announced by New York State officials, and contrasts their electricity plans with those of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) which is responsible for the reliability of New York's electricity grid. Both sets of plans have major implications for the people of New York.

Two industrial wind turbine farms are proposed by parent UPC Wind Partners for the town of Cohocton, NY and will permanently alter the town. The large blades on MW scale turbines can at certain times produce moving shadows on the landscape or create distracting flicker on the scenery. To capture the wind these turbines are to be installed on hilltops around the town and thus have significant potential to create a shadow flicker nuisance at great distances from the turbines. All environmental effects of projects require consideration and possible mitigation. Siting selection is important since wind turbines are a permanent installation and may significantly impair resident’s enjoyment of neighboring lands or even personal health.

PPM's Horse Creek wind project proposed for the towns of Clayton and Orleans, Jefferson County, NY will include 62 wind turbines. The drawing available at the link below provides a graphical representation of the 500-foot and 1,250-foot setbacks from abutting residences.

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